A federal judge Thursday denied Florida’s request to reinstate a ban on healthcare for transgender youth and adults, originally blocked in June.
Judge Robert Hinkle criticized the state for “misleading assertions” and lacking evidence to support the ban’s necessity.
“With all the state’s resources and the full range of discovery available under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the state was unable to present evidence of even a single instance of improper provision of care in Florida. The state was unable to present evidence of even a single departure in this state from the widely accepted Endocrine Society and WPATH standards of care. Perhaps most importantly, the state was unable to present evidence of even a single patient who suffered adverse consequences or came to regret care received in this state.”
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He further noted evidence of animus motivating some legislators, citing instances of derogatory remarks and discriminatory language used by lawmakers towards transgender individuals.
“Transgender opponents are of course free to hold their beliefs,” Judge Robert L. Hinkle of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee Division, wrote in his opinion. “But they are not free to discriminate against transgender individuals just for being transgender. In time, discrimination against transgender individuals will diminish, just as racism and misogyny have diminished. To paraphrase a civil-rights advocate from an earlier time, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
“We are profoundly grateful that Judge Hinkle denied the state of Florida’s request to stay the order that restored access to gender-affirming healthcare for all transgender Floridians,” said Simone Chriss, Director of the Transgender Rights Initiative at Southern Legal Counsel. “I have the privilege of working with many of the providers in the state of Florida who provide medical care to the transgender community, and I am so grateful for the Court’s strong repudiation of the state’s misleading assertions and baseless attacks on these providers. This is a good day for Floridians.”
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The plaintiffs in Doe v. Ladapo are represented by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC), National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Southern Legal Counsel (SLC), and Lowenstein Sandler LLP.
“The Court continues to find that this transgender healthcare ban was absolutely rooted in anti-LGBTQ+ animus and discrimination—not medicine,” said Sarah Warbelow, Human Rights Campaign Vice President of Legal. “This strong repudiation from Judge Hinkle is just another example of how laws targeting and attacking transgender youth are abuses of political power by discriminatory lawmakers. Transgender adults, youth, and their families deserve the same access and ability to make healthcare decisions with their own medical providers and we are glad to see that preserved in Florida.”
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